Why do you keep getting mail from politicans?

Bill Gaylor is all about keeping his constituents informed, but is there such a thing as too much?

The Nassau County legislator’s Democratic opponent says yes — especially with five mailers in the last four weeks. Even more, Jake Scheiner says Gaylor’s mailers are not only an unethical use of taxpayer money, but they also violate the law.

County law mandates legislators cannot send out mass mailing within 45 days of an election. Scheiner notes Gaylor’s final mailing was received by many of his constituents — and potential voters — on Sep. 24. That’s 44 days before the Nov. 7 election.

“Distributing political mailers in this blackout period challenges the very essence of ethical governance,” Scheiner said. “It prompts us to question the transparency of our elected officials, and the fairness of the electoral process.”

Of course, the question comes down to whether the law applies a deadline to when such mailers can be sent out, or when they can be received. Gaylor supporters could argue the mailers were taken to the post office on Sept. 22 — within county law — and they can’t control when the post office ultimately delivers them to homes.

Gaylor’s first mailer, sent out well before the blackout period, highlighted the county funds the county legislator secured for the Lynbrook Police Department. The second was about bicycle safety, while the third and fourth advertised Narcan training for opioid overdoses as well as the flu shot programs Gaylor co-sponsored.

The fifth and final one, however, took a much more political tone, Scheiner claims. It told constituents the legislature’s Republican majority had not raised property taxes in 14 consecutive years, while cutting taxes by nearly $50 million since 2009. Gaylor also boasted the proposed 2024 county budget from his Republican colleagues contains no tax increases.

“This is simply a campaign ad that's being printed at the expense of the taxpayers and everybody here today,” Scheiner said, adding the statements made in the mailer are “completely and utterly false.”

“I have a copy here with me of the 2024 proposed Nassau County budget,” Scheiner said. “It clearly outlines that, over a 10-year time frame, property taxes have gone up under the Republican-led Nassau County Legislature.”

In addition, Scheiner claims each of Gaylor’s mailers cost district cost taxpayers in excess of $5,000.

“It is disturbing to see our tax dollars spent on political advertising,” Markus Wilson, a Lynbrook resident and a Valley Stream education board member, said.

Mary Studdert, a spokeswoman for the county legislature’s Republican majority, released a statement to the Herald that didn’t address questions about the cost of the mailers, or how they were funded. Instead, she boasted that “Nassau County offers the finest services and programs anywhere.

“Of course, they are only effective if residents are made aware of them. All public service notifications from the majority legislature are distributed in compliance with all applicable regulations and restrictions.”

The concerns raised by the mailers coincide with the criticism Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman has received for putting his name on county parks and properties — something Scheiner says is part of an overall pattern with Republicans.

“It’s about a broader issue, which is prioritizing personal branding over the genuine needs and interests of our community,” the Democrat said. “Our community deserves elected officials who prioritize our concerns over personal or political gain.”

Gaylor, a former traffic court judge, was first elected in 2015 to the seat representing an area that includes Lynbrook, Malverne, Valley Stream, Rockville Centre, Hewlett and Franklin Square.

Scheiner, a former advisor to U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi and now a vice president with Simon Paston & Sons Agency insurance company in Lynbrook, is calling for a comprehensive ethics investigation into the timing and content of the mailers.

“This is not supposed to be a partisan issue,” he said. “It’s about protecting the trust of the residents who rightly expect that their elected officials operate with the highest integrity and the highest ethical standards.”